Barbecue Season
Soaking up the last of the sunshine and long days in New Zealand. We share a bounty of delicious, easy recipes that taste best with a barbecue and some good company. Plus sweet treats!
Hello hello,
We hope you have been enjoying this gorgeous summer we are finally having in New Zealand, and for those of you over in the northern hemisphere — congratulations, you survived February!
While Rose is welcoming in spring in Lisbon, for those down in the southern hemisphere it feels way too early to be leaving summer behind. Annabel’s been noticing a distinct sense of change in the air — the mornings have been briskly crisp (but not yet dewy), and the leaves on the tops of the poplars are turning to gold. The solution? Spend as much time as possible enjoying the evenings, and dining outdoors. With a hot barbecue and some grilled protein and vegetables, you can carry on that easy summer feeling well into autumn.
With this in mind, we wanted to share some simple, delicious recipes that taste best with a barbecue, fresh air, and good company.
For The Grill
Knowing how to cook anything on a barbecue is such a useful life skill. You’ll feel empowered and resourceful, earn endless accolades, and eat well. It’s a win-win-win. Here are some of our best-loved dishes to cook on the barbecue.
A whole fish cooked over the coals is such a treat — it feels generous and special, and is so easy. We developed this fabulous recipe for Whole Grilled Fish with Chilli Lime Butter from Summer at Home which we keep coming back to. Buying a whole fish is usually less expensive than buying fillets and if you want you can use the fish head and bones for stock, ensuring nothing goes to waste. If you can catch your own fish, all the better.
Butterflying a fish open is such a brilliant way to cook it on the barbecue – it doesn’t stick on the grill and once it’s done the bones will simply lift out. If you’re a bit nervous about butterflying the fish yourself, ask your fishmonger to do it for you.
When choosing your fish, make sure you choose a sustainable species that has not been overfished. Ask your fishmonger where it was caught, and how. Trevally and kahawai are usually best choices. If in doubt, you can always consult our guide to Sustainable Seafood.
If you’re yet to discover Ted’s Barbecue Chicken — now just may be the time! Growing up, we would have this every Sunday in the summer months. Wonderfully succulent, flavourful chicken that is perfect every time thanks to this easy recipe. Brining the chicken beforehand is the key to locking in as much flavour and moisture as possible.
This Butterflied Lamb Leg with Greek lemon and rosemary marinade is another winner and is great if you’re feeding a crowd. This easy barbecue recipe also works well with venison, beef or chicken.
We love these yummy Grilled Lamb Flatbreads from Summer at Home. These little pockets of deliciousness are such a fab way to make a little bit of lamb go a long way, plus they can be cooked ahead of time and reheated on a barbecue when you’re ready to serve. You can also find a vegetarian version of these in book, made with silverbeet and feta.
We love making a bit of steak go a long way, which really shines in this Mediterranean Beef Salad. You can use sirloin, fillet, scotch fillet, or hanger steak here. This salad is served at room temperature, which is handy when you’re cooking for friends because you won’t be rushing around at the last minute. To prepare it ahead of time, cut up the vegetables and herbs, cover and chill. If you want, you can cook the meat up to about an hour before serving then combine with all the other ingredients just before serving.
This Seared Squid Salad is also so yummy and fresh. Lots of people like squid and order it when they go out, but would never dream of cooking it at home. It has a reputation for being tricky to cook, but it’s actually so easy and relatively inexpensive compared to other seafood. The important thing is not to overcook it — as soon as it turns opaque it’s done. Our Grilled Squid & Fennel Salad is another favourite.
We love vegetables cooked on the barbecue, the smoky flavour adds so much depth — broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, corn, asparagus, mushrooms, kūmara, pumpkin, and bell peppers are all incredibly well-suited to a hot grill.
Annabel’s famous Grilled Broccoli Salad is still one of our best-loved barbecue recipes. It’s so simple — broccoli, garlic, chilli, and parmesan are a match made in heaven. You can prep it ahead of time and dress just before you serve. Peeling the broccoli stalks makes them nice and tender, so don’t skip this step!
Grilled eggplant is excellent added to this gorgeous Eggplant & Chickpea Salad. If you have any leftovers, this also keeps well and is great for a weekday lunch — add the rocket/baby spinach and parsley and dress before serving. You can use 150g crumbled feta in place of the yoghurt dressing to change things up if you fancy.
This gorgeous Rainbow Salad with Haloumi is another summer winner and a great use of delicious grilled zucchinis and red bell peppers. It’s fab with grilled eggplant too. Use quinoa in place of the couscous to make this gluten-free.
Our Top Tips for Successful Barbecuing
• Cooking over wood embers gives barbecued food an amazing taste, but you need to be organised — start your fire two hours ahead to build up a big bed of embers.
• You don’t want to cook over an open flame; don’t put the meat on the grill until the embers are starting to turn grey, with a red glow underneath.
• If you’re using charcoal you’ll need to get it going about 40 minutes before you plan to start cooking.
• If you’re feeding a crowd or need to keep cooking through the evening, build a big enough fire that you can keep feeding embers from the main fire under the food that is being cooked.
• Hardwood produces a more intense heat and holds its heat for longer. Mānuka, gum, or Douglas fir all burn hotter and hold embers longer than pine. If using charcoal, look for hardwood charcoal — it is more expensive but lasts longer and cooks much hotter.
• Gas barbecues are, of course, far more convenient, but even they benefit from at least 15 minutes of preheating with the lid closed to build up the heat. Before you fire up the grill, apply a little oil to a paper towel and rub the grill bars all over. This will help prevent sticking and also give you great grill lines on your food.
• It’s worthwhile investing in a barbecue with a lid so that you can use it as an oven and smoker as well as a grill.
• Try to avoid poking and prodding steak as it cooks. The less you puncture it and move it about, the tenderer and juicier it will be.
• Lean cuts of meat should be cooked to rare or medium rare, otherwise they dry out and get rubbery. Chicken, on the other hand, should always be cooked fully through. To be safe, par cook or precook the chicken first, and just barbecue at the end to give a crispy skin and smoky flavour.
• If your marinade has lots of sugar or sweeteners in it, whatever you are cooking will brown (and burn) much more quickly. Try to avoid burning, as charred meat, poultry, and fish contain carcinogens. Use a wire brush to clean the barbecue grill while it is still hot.
Something Sweet
Of course, it’s good to balance out the savoury flavours with a little sweet treat. Our Italian Plum & Almond Cake from Summer at Home is truly out of this world, if you haven’t made it yet, we strongly recommend you do so in the coming weeks while plums are ripe and abundant!
Now is also the time to make this gorgeous Fresh Nectarine Tart — a tender pastry, creamy filling and fresh fruit are the perfect balance of flavours and textures, well-suited to late summer harvests. You can use any fresh fruit you like, it’s also excellent with figs, peaches, apricots, and berries.
These divine Freeform Plum Tarts are made with a flaky sour cream pastry and come together in a flash. They are also excellent with nectarines or apricots. If using nectarines, allow half a piece of fruit per tart.
This heavenly Chocolate & Cardamom Tart is another fab recipe from Summer at Home — two of Rose’s friends have had this as the dessert at their weddings this summer, it’s that good! It’s also vegan and gluten-free which makes things easy.
That is all from us! Thanks for joining us, we hope that these recipes bring you joy and nourishment in the coming weeks. If you’d like more recipes and inspiration from us, you can always visit our website, where we have hundreds of free recipes.
We also have our weekly paid newsletter, What to Cook Tonight, where we share three brand-new recipes every week. Discover crispy fish burgers, juicy chicken bakes, beautiful pastas, vibrant salads, and a bounty of ideas for what to do with all those tomatoes, zucchinis, and fresh herbs. You can always start with a free trial and see if it’s your cup of tea.
Regardless, we are always grateful for your support, paid or otherwise!
With love,
Annabel & Rose xx
Thanks for the links to all these delicious recipes! My favorite reference recipe book for great bbq recipes and accompanying sides & desserts is "License to Grill" by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. I mastered grilling whole fish thanks to their useful tips.
Hi do you have a winner of the kenwood competition?